This is one of the several (exact number changes periodically as herpetologists classify and reclassify) all-female whiptail species that reproduce parthenogetically. Certainly a rarity in vertebrates, this trait makes these species very interesting to researchers.

We saw a few of these whiptails mixed in with the dozens of Mountain Spiny Lizards that festoon the Chiricahua National Monument. Like most whiptails, they were generally nervous, twitchy lizards, but they had a greater tendency to rest in plain sight for awhile than even twitchier species like the Western Whiptail. One of them actually tiptoed over and licked my camera's tripod a couple of times before settling down in the space between my shoes.

This species was placed in the genus Cnemidophorus until recently, so most reference books still use that name.